KMT to finalize selection process for candidates

MARCH TARGET:Su Jun-pin said the party was still holding consultations and exchanging opinions on the mechanism for nominating candidates

By Ko Shu-ling / Staff Reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it intended to finalize its nomination mechanism for the legislative elections after the Lunar New Year holiday or in March.

Legislative elections are scheduled to be held at the end of this year, but a proposal to combine them with the presidential poll may push them to the first half of next year.

KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said in a statement the party was still holding consultations and exchanging opinions on the mechanism to be used for the nomination of its legislative candidates.

The plan is to finalize the nomination method by the middle of March and the nomination of candidates will be made according to party rules, he said after a party meeting to discuss the nomination procedure.

He did not give a timetable for the nominations.

Outgoing KMT Secretary--General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said on Sunday the party was inclined to negotiate with prospective candidates before considering party primaries.

The KMT’s current system relies on a combination of primaries and polls to determine its candidates in elections.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) voted on Sunday to scrap party primaries and let public polls determine election candidates despite opposition from some members, who said the voices of party members should be factored in when choosing candidates.

Under the DPP’s new system, nominees for president, legislators, mayors, county commissioners and special municipality councilors will be selected through public polls by telephone.

Legislators-at-large, who are elected based on the share of the party’s proportional vote, will be chosen by a task force led by the DPP chairperson and approved by two-thirds of the party’s Central Executive Committee.

Meanwhile, KMT Legislator-at-large Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said she was interested in running as an elected representative.

Lo told reporters at the legislature she would like to run for the legislative seat in Taipei City’s Zhongshan and Songshan districts, where she grew up.

The two districts are the constituency of two-term KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴).

Asked to comment, Chiang was tight-lipped about the potential challenge, saying he was not at liberty to comment on the party’s legislative nomination because the party had not yet finalized the mechanism.